ACC, r2 preview: In-form Montpellier first up as French clubs seek to rise to the Challenge

French clubs got off to a flyer last weekend in the opening round of the Amlin Challenge Cup, with six out its seven entrants recording wins, while Bourgoin - the only losers - at least returned with a defensive bonus from their trip to Newcastle Falcons.

Newcastle face up to French opposition again in Round 2, with the Falcons swooping in to Top 14 high flyers Montpellier on Thursday evening.

Both teams have opted to use this competition to give experience to youngsters and fringe squad players, but both also have ambitions to progress through to the knockout stages.

Newcastle opened with that 22-16 home win against Bourgoin last week, while Montpellier did well enough without the likes of Francois Trinh-Duc and Fulgence Ouedraogo to still triumph 13-20 away to competition newcomers Exeter Chiefs.

The latter travel to Bourgoin in the group's other match on Friday night, and realistically it will be a three-way battle for qualification between Montpellier, Bourgoin and Newcastle. Thus, tonight's clash between Montpol and the Falcons could be crucial to the eventual outcome.

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The French side, currently joint second in Top 14, have named Argentine Santiago Fernandez as their starting scrum-half, with Benoit Paillaugue at fly-half and Pierre Berard at full-back. Talented young centre Geoffroy Dumayrou is moved to the wing, with Grant Rees and Suta Tuilevuka in the centres as Fabien Galthié has a look at his attacking options.

Newcastle head coach Alan Tait has also rotated the team which overcame Bourgoin, with Andy Henderson coming in for the injured Gcobani Bobo, while Chris Pilgrim, Kieran Brookes and Redford Pennycock also make the starting line-up. England under-18 international Joel Hodgson gets his first club start at fly-half in place of the injured Jeremy Manning.

Bourgoin, meanwhile, will be hoping to get their campaign back on track with a home win against Aviva Premiership new boys Exeter Chiefs at the Stade Pierre Rajon. Ideally, the home side would love to win with an attacking bonus, but the most important thing will just be to get the victory under their belts first. Exeter will travel with hope of an upset as they continue their European adventure, and will be boosted by this week's arrival of Australian forward Peter Kimlin.

Bayonne are also in action on Friday night as they travel to last season's semi-finalists Connacht in Pool 1. Bayonne beat Harlequins 16-12 in torrential rain last weekend and will be looking to make it two wins from two as they journey to Ireland.

The Basques have genuine ambitions in this tournament but are wary of a Connacht backlash after the Irish outfit surprisingly went down 23-21 away to Cavalieri Estra in Round 1. Full back Pepito Elhorga acknowledged Connacht's strength but added that Bayonne would "prepare with the intention to win".

Three French sides are in action on Saturday, with two of them - La Rochelle and SU Agen - coming face to face at the Stade Marcel Deflandre in Pool 5. Both recorded good wins in Round 1 with Agen pulling off an excellent last-ditch home victory against Gloucester while La Rochelle ran riot away to Rugby Rovigo - winning 3-38.

Both of these teams are using the competition to try and gain momentum for league challenges ahead, with the two Top 14 newcomers struggling at present to escape the dreaded drop-zone. La Rochelle must start as favourites due to their home advantage, and there is added intrigue with the two sides also due to meet in the French league in a fortnight's time.

Brive are the third Top 14 side to play on Saturday as they travel to Spanish outfit El Salvador looking to build on last weekend's 32-6 home win against Petrarca Rugby. A winning bonus would do nicely for Ugo Mola's side before they prepare for their back-to-back clashes against Sale Sharks in rounds three and four.

Finally, but by no means least, glamour club Stade Francais travel to Leeds Carnegie on Sunday seeking to underline their status as tournament favourites. Stade ran in nine tries as they hammered Crociati 57-6 last weekend, and they will again be hoping to collect five points despite head coach opting to rest several of his first-team stars.